Day 05: No Place To Go

Posted by: Nellie

Today's devo scenario was incredibly difficult. Denise's home life is horrible. She's afraid of her stepfather who has made sexual advances toward her, and she doesn't want to tell her mom, or anyone, because she doesn't want another painful divorce. What does it look like for Denise to be a disciple of Jesus in this scenario?

1) It reminds me to be thankful for my family and my parents. I feel guilty for not appreciating my family, when I know there are students who face very similar scenarios to Denise. 

2) It reminds me that things are never as they seem. If you met Denise, she'd probably do such a good job covering things up, you'd never know anything was wrong. Someone like Denise is very reluctant to tell anyone anything. Am I the sort of person that would be there for Denise, and that she knows she could trust? 

3) Finally... what do I think it looks like to be a disciple of Jesus in this case? There's no easy answer. But what I do know for sure, is that it does not mean avoiding the problem and pretending that everything is ok. One of most important things in my faith journey has been being ok with admitting when things are wrong. It can be hard, maybe embarrassing, but we all need others, and most of all, we need Jesus. In the words of Simon Peter in today's Scripture, 'to who else would we go besides you?' (John 6:68). 

Like Denise's scenario, sometimes there are no easy answers. But instead of hiding from the problem and keeping it to ourselves, we need to begin wrestling with Jesus about the way to go.